Hand printing device



(No Model.)

R. H. SMITH 8v W. F. TRIPP.

HAND PRINTING DEVICE.

No. 600,289. Patented Mar. 8,1898.

UNrrnD vSTATES RICHARD HALE SMITH AND VVILLARD F. TRIPP, OF SPRINGFIELD MASSACHUSETTS.

PATENT OFFICE.

HAND PRINTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,239, dated March 8, 1898.

Application filed .Tune l, 1896. Serial No. 593,753. (No model.)

To all whom t 11i/ay con/cern..-

Beit known that we, RICHARD HALE SMITH and WILLARD F. TRIPP, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of Springfield, Hampden county, Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hand Printing Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and letters of reference marked thereon.

Our invention relates to that class of hand printing devices adapted to printing merchants window and counter signs, price and announcement cards, marking shipping-addresses upon cases, tbc., wherein the letters are imprinted one at a time, as patented to us April 17, 1891; and our chief object is to provide additional apparatus by which the printing` may be conveniently and accurately executed in curved lines in such a manner that the radius of the curve may always coincide with a central line drawn through each and Vevery type-body parallel with its sides when said type are placed in position to print, regardless of the greatly-varying widths of body of the different type used, and thereby producing a more correct and satisfactory quality of curved-line printing than any previous device of this class has provided means for.

Our object is, further, to generally improve the construction in detail, as hereinafter pointed out.

We accomplish the objects of our invention by the construction herein shown.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure l is a top plan view of our improved device, showing it in position to print in a curved line. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a like view showing the reverse side or bottom. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one of the simplest forms of end guide. Fig. 5 is an end view of the beam. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the pivot-foot. Fig. 7 is a view of the same as seen from its lower face. Fig. S is a top view of a presserfoot, and Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the same.

In4 detail, a indicates the beam; b, a guide mounted to slide thereon; c, a longitudinal centrally-arranged dovetailed recess in the lower face of the beam; d, presser-feet; e, a spur mounted in one of the presser-feet, thus making it a pivot-foot; f, a metal plate forming apart of the presser-foot; g, a projection thereon adapted to enter the recess c; h, the

face portion of the end guide; z', wings or pro- The beam is provided with a laterally-adj ustable guide at the end, one of the simplest arrangements being to provide the beams with a transverse groove or slot 7.: at the end, in which the ways or projections t' upon the plate 7L fit and bear with a frictional contact, so that said guide maybe moved thc desired distance in either direction, while the contact or tension is suii'icient to normally maintain the guide in the desired position during the ordinary operation of printing.

Vhile we have shown in the drawings a dovetailed recess in the beam and projections upon the guide-plate shaped to t such recess, we do not limit ourselves to such particular construction, as it will readily be seen that grooves of other shapes may be readily employed and that the grooves might be formed in the guide-plate and a projection formed on the end of the beam without departing from the spirit of our invention in this respect, and that other forms of adjustable end guides may be employed.

To prevent danger of the slipping of the beam from the desired position, we provide adjustable presser-feet, the beam being provided with an undercut groove or recess arranged substantially in the center of the beam and in its lower face, such presser-feet being preferably constructed of a spring sheetmetal plate f, formed with a projecting part g, and provided with openings through the plane portions, and suitably secured thereto, preferably by vulcanizing, is the soft or yielding material d, preferably of rubber.' The projection g may of course be made of suflicient size or shape so as to have a binding IOO vit in its normal, position'.

groove c, thus at all timespreventing dan ger of the presser-foot being accidentally moved from the position in which it is left or from falling from the beam in the event of the beam being held in an inclined or vertical po! sition. The presser-feet may, however, be easily moved to the desired position by forcing the face gently toward the beam, thus releasing all frictional contact and leaving the presser-feet free to be moved as desired, and upon the pressure being removed, as before stated, they are automatically locked in position.

being used for the purpose of a guide for forming imprints-a larger degree of pressure is placed upon the beam in order to hold the same in a desired fixed position, whichl results in the plane surfaces of the presser-foot in contact with the lower face of the beam being' brought not only to a level position in contact with the lower face of the beam, but such pressure causes the soft material d to f project sufficiently through the openings in begin.

the metallic part of the presser-foot, so as to bring such soft material in contact with the beam and thus serve to avoid danger of movement of lthe beam on the presser-foot while the device is being used. One of the presserfeet 'is provided with a spur e, it being mounted in the projection g and passing through and projecting from the soft material. This spur serves as a pivot upon which the beam is turned to describe the desired circle, and its position with reference to the guide provided at the end of the beam will of course depend upon the radius desired, it being adjustable to any exact position. For illustration, in order to print in curved line the operation Would be as follows: Slide one of the adjustable presser-feet d in the groove in bottom of beam close up to the end type-guide. Slide the needle-foot to a distance from the end guide equal to the exact radius of the curve desired. Slide the other presser-foot to a distance from the needle-foot about equal to that of the first presser-foot. Now with the beam properly located press the pivotneedle into the card or surface to be printed upon, and upon it swing the guide end of beam to the point Where the lettering should Ink the desired first type and place its body or block in the angle against bothv surfaces of the end guide with its bottom toward the end of the beam, as A shown in Fig.

l; but before pressing it down adj ust the end guide so that the central mark or arrow on the beam coincides with the center of the type. Now press the type down close in the angle of the end guide and form the imprint, and if the imprint is not perfect repeat the operation while still holding the beam firmly upon the presser-feet. Now swing the guide end of beam to theright until the projecting arm j of the end guide indicates the desired space beyond the character just printed. Select the next-type and proceed inthe same manner, and so on until the line is completed. Now it will be readily seen that if the projecting arm j of the end type-guide was iiXed in any one position withrelation to the end of -the beam the type imprinted by it whose bodies were wider from their center to left side than the distance from the right surface of the arm j to aparallel line running through the pivot-needle, or, in construction shown in Fig. 2, to the central line of the beam, would tip to the left and all narrower type would tip to the right, and none of the type j could print in a correct position on the cir- When in use-that is, when the device is times as wide, while in actual practice withv our improved construction the same beam and type-guide are used for ten different-sized sets of type, ranging in height of printing-face from one-quarter inch to three inches, and adjust to the Wide and narrow letters of all sizes equally well. It will also be readily seen that our object in this respect may be attained by making the guide rigid at one point at the end of the beam and mounting the pivotal needle adjustably with relation to the center of the beam, and if the end guide should be fixed in one position and the pivotneedle made laterally movable it would only be necessary to set the needle at a distance from the line upon which the end guide was fixed equal to half the width of each type used; but this method is an inferior alternative for constructing our improved device and we claim it as a mere modification of our invention.

It is to be observed that as the guide h is adjusted back and forth along the end of the beam to suit different sizes of type the plate j makes a greater or smaller angle with the radial line 20, drawn from the pivot e to the nearer end of the plate j, or corner where said plate joins the guide h. This angle is indeed the angle subtended at the center e by half the Width of the type. The rule for properly adjusting the guide j may therefore be also expressed by stating that in all cases the angle between the plate j and the line 20, drawn from the nearer edge of said plate to the pivotal point, shall be the angle subtended at IOO IIO

the pivotal point by half the width of the type placed at the end of the beam.

The device is provided also with a longitudinal spacing-guide b for straight-line Work, which slides upon the beam in the manner shown.

Having therefore described our invention,

whatwe claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. The combination in a hand printing device, of a beam, a type-guide arranged at the end of the beam and arranged to be adjusted laterally of the beam and a pivot on the beam, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

2. In a hand printing device, the combination of a beam provided in its end with a groove and a type-guide having a projection to iit said groove and slide therein and a pivot adjustably mounted on the beam, substantially as shown.

3. In a hand printing device, the combination of a beam, a type-guide having broad bearing-surfaces mounted at the end portion thereof, and having a movable engagement laterally of the beam and a pin or pivot Whereby the center line of the type-block may be brought into alinement With a line from the pivot for the purposes stated.

4. In a hand printing device, the combination of a beam provided with an undercut longitudinal groove, with a foot formed of sheet-metal or like material having openings through it and having a projection g adapted to slide in said groove and having its opposite face covered with a soft material which projects through said openings and having a pivotal needle or spur projecting from its face, substantially as shown.

5. In a hand printing device the combination of a beam, a type-guide, a pivot and means for lateral adjustment of either the type-guide or pivot with respect to the other whereby the pivotal point and central line of the type may at all times be maintained on the same line, for the purposes stated.

6. In a hand printing device, the combination of a beam, a type-guide mounted to slide thereon along the beam,a type-guide mounted at the end of the beam, an adjustable spursupporting part having a spur mounted therein and means for lateral adjustment of either the type-guide or pivot With respect to the other whereby the spur and end guide may bebrought to position with reference to each other so that the center line of the type While making the imprint will coincide With a straight line from the center to the periphery of the arc being printed upon, substantially as shown.

RICHARD HALE SMITH. WILLARD F. TRIPP. Witnesses: i

ALLEN WEBSTER, E. C. STICKNEY. 

